Last week a young man broke into a house in Minnesota. He stole cash, credit cards and the man’s watch. Then, seeing that the computer was on,
he logged into his Facebook account and forgot to log off. That’s how they caught him. His next status update will have to be from prison.
I once knew of a guy who had been taught by his mother to always take his shoes off when entering a house. He did that while committing a ‘break and enter’; heard the owners coming back and took off without his shoes. That’s how they caught him.
If you are interested in knowing more about the world’s dumbest criminals there are many websites dedicated to the topic. It’s hard not to feel somewhat superior when reading about the foolish exploits of some people. I tend to think, “I would never do something that stupid.”
We all like to think of ourselves as wise and not foolish. Foolishness isn’t a virtue in any culture. But are we truly as wise as we think? Most of us train and educate ourselves so that we will be considered smart and intelligent. We want to be among the strong and powerful members of our society.
Paul gives us a different perspective when he writes in 1 Corinthians: Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1:26-30)
The truth is we aren’t as smart as we think we are. God’s wisdom is far above our worldly wisdom. It wasn’t because we were smart and gifted that we find ourselves among God’s people. God prefers to use those who are weak and lowly so that he gets all the credit.
As believers we can’t boast in our own cleverness, it’s simply all because of Jesus. Every so often I need that reminder and it keeps me humble – I’m just foolish enough for God to use.